DAY 4 & 5 (9/13 & 14)

Day 4.

Day was kind of a quiet day.  It was a day of settling in.  Learning the ropes of the house and dogs.  And trying to figure out where things like the grocery store, gas station, etc. is.  Also, they have an extraordinarily complex TV system that I attempted to learn, but grew very, very frustrated by.  Nothing simple about it.  Once they are in the air I will sit down on my own and see if I can figure it out.

Today we went to Chili’s for lunch.  Their neighbor and daughter joined us and we had a lovely meal.

The one really yucky thing that has happened is that I have lost my back-up car fob.  Pete insisted that we both bring our extra keys.  I don’t know why, I never do that.  But of course, since I did bring my back-up, I lost it.  It had to have fallen out of my purse.  Have no idea where it could be.  And I’m pissed cause I know they cost a fortune to replace!!!!

Sunday evening we watched the Bengals/Buccs game…..yeah, the Bengals won!!!

 

Day 5

Today was pretty much the same.  I pulled out my computer and got some work done.  Pete and I went to Publix and picked up a couple of things, although they do have 2 refrigerators and 3 freezers packed full of food, so we should be in good shape as far as eating goes.

We took Jan and Tom out to Texas Roadhouse for a celebratory farewell dinner.  We take them to the Tampa airport early tomorrow  for their flight to Rome. 

Then we will be on our own.  Wish us luck!!!!

 

DAY 2 & 3

Day 2

Day 2 of our drive to Florida began with breakfast at our Hampton Inn and then on the road again.  We were just north of Atlanta as we hit the road so we delayed departure until after the morning rush hour. 

Of course, that didn’t help much.  Driving through Atlanta, no matter the day or time, is always a nightmare.  Last June I was attending a wedding in Bellingham and drove from the Seattle airport north to Bellingham.  I blogged about that experience being exactly like driving through Atlanta.  And this time, I was reminded of how awful it is.  The only thing positive you can say about the experience is that at least the Atlanta By-pass routes all the semis around Atlanta and you don’t have to deal with them.  But still, shear volume of cars is just over-whelming.  And this trip, for the first time in years, I was actually driving. 

Then, just south of Atlanta we started running into the scattered storms that was forecasted.  Not much lightening or thunder, but the rain cam down in buckets.  At one point my cruise control stopped working and the error message said the sensor was blocked.  Finally, after the rain stopped the sensor must have dried up and it started working again. 

So, we made it to Molly’s house and after 7 hours, I was soooo glad to be out of the car.  Thank God it has excellent air conditioning because I stepped out of the car at Molly’s and was blasted by the heat and humidity.  How do people live in Florida….seriously???

                                                         Duke

 Molly has two dogs, Duke is the young German Shepard, who was super, super energetic, but a little sweetheart just the same.    

We ended the day with a yummy dinner at the Fish Camp restaurant and a nice visit with Molly.  The next morning, we were on the road by Noon and only had little more than an hour drive to Jan and Tom’s.  I was so happy it was not another 7- hour day.

 

DAY 3

Jan was waiting for us in her drive way when we came through the gates.  Again, the heat and humidity almost knocked me off my feet as I got out of the car, but we were where we’re gonna be for the next month.  Time to unload the car and relax. 

I’m so glad we were off the road, because again that day the storms started rolling through.  In this case major rainfall and strong thunder and lightning. 

Their dogs, Keylie and Daisy, really don’t like the storms, so we tried to calm them down.  But the storms were really powerful, so they were not happy campers at all. 

 

Daisy 

The day was spent just catching up with Jan and Tom.  Lovely dinner, watching the OSU game, ending the day in a comfy bed.  Nite, nite.

THE ADVENTURE BEGINS

Currently I’m sitting in a Hampton Inn in Cartersville, GA, on my way to Auburndale, Fl. to house sit Pete’s sister’s house for a month.  They are headed to Europe for a 3 week tour and we’re dog sitting their 2 labs.

We had to drive two cars down cause I’m leaving for Indian Rocks Beach later in the month for my 60^th high school reunion which should be a lot of fun.  And then I need to head right home for OLLI classes that start a week earlier.    

So, its been a while since I drove down to Florida from our home in Goshen, Ohio.  I’ve made the trip many times over the past several years, but typically Pete does all the driving while I spend the days reading a book. 

This time, since I had to drive my car, I wasn’t really looking forward to the drive, but I buckled in and off we went.  All was well for a while, until we hit rain showers just south of Cincinnati.  It rained, not stormed, all the way to southern Kentucky.  That was a little stressful since the roads were packed.

But once the rain broke, I relaxed and started thinking about all the times I’ve made this drive.  I remember the first time we made the trip for our move to Florida in 1957.  I-75 wasn’t even completed until 1977. 

That means, when I moved back to Ohio in June 1968 that I didn’t make the drive all the way up I-75.  I don’t remember that.  I remember I drove my new 1968 VW Bug was packed with everything I owned…..clothes, books, a sewing machine, golf clubs, etc, etc. 

Driving today I started thinking about this history.  Kind of wished I kept journals recording all those trips.  Early on I drove home to Florida at least once a year, sometimes more often. 

Of course, once I moved to Alaska and then Guam, that was 3* years when I didn’t make the drive at all.  But in June 1976, when I returned to Cincinnati from Guam, the practice started up again. 

I actually love the drive.  I-75 makes the trip very easy and driving through Kentucky and Tennessee is really beautiful.  There is so much history there, I can get lost in thought as I drive along.

This trip will be the longest ever.  From here we travel down to Leesburg, Fl to spend a day with Molly, Pete’s sister, then from there to Auburndale to Jan and Tom’s.

This will be the first installment.  I’ll keep posting as the days fly by.

See ya later.

 

NEVER AGAIN

(warning….this is exceptionally long, make sure you are clear to sit for 20-25 minutes)

If you follow me on Facebook you know that recently I took a trip to Maine.  My long-time friend, Diane and her partner Betts live in Bar Harbor.  Diane comes home fairly often, but it had been a very long time since I had visited her in Bar Harbor…..so the time had come.

It took a while to find a cost affordable flight and I ended up on American Airlines, flying from Columbus Ohio thru Charlotte, NC on up to Bangor, ME.

Let me say, up front, the visit itself was fabulous.  Excellent weather, fun things to do and lots of good visiting.   

Some of you may remember that last July I flew to Seattle, WA for a friend’s wedding in Bellingham, WA.  That was also an excellent visit, the problem was the travel up there.  Maybe I shouldn’t travel in July.  Am I jinxed??

This story starts the week before I left to go to Maine.  I have recently purchased a 2022 Ford Escape.  This car comes with tons of extras I’ve never had before, one of which is a Ford App that communicates with you.  It monitors the status of different functions on your car, like for instance the tire pressure of your tires. This becomes very relevant during my week in Maine.

The week prior the app let me know that my left front tire had low pressure.  Pete aired it for me.  In a couple of days, it was low again, which prompted a call to the dealership for an appointment to get this fixed. 

My instructions were, the left front tire, please fix.  One hour 20 minutes later I was still there, a little peeved that it was taking so long.  Unfortunately for the staff, I could see my car from the waiting room.  All four tires were off the car!!!  What?????

This part of the story gets very long, so let me just say, I ended up with four new tires at no charge.  All should be well…..right???  Na!!!

Moving right along….on Tuesday, July 14 I drove to Columbus and spent the night at a Days Inn as my flight left rather early Wednesday.  Got to the airport, parked the car, arrived in the terminal…all was well.  Everything ran on time.  Arrived in Charlotte, all was well, everything ran on time. 

However, this time, the row behind me contained a Mom, Dad, infant and a very small toddler.  From the second we sat down until the second I stood up to leave the plane, the two children did not stop crying.  Not screaming crying, but non-stop crying.  At one point I was going to turn around and give the parents the evil eye.  When I turned, what I saw were two adults who looked like they wanted to throw their kids out the window.  I felt so sorry for them.  They were completely and totally exhausted and had no idea how to get their kids to settle down. 

So, I turned around and dealt with it.  Part of my problem is that I have very sensitive hearing.  Unlike 99% of people over 60 who wear hearing aids, I typically have to have ear plugs as my hearing is so sensitive and I am often in pain from all kinds of noises. 

So, I land in Bangor, Diane and Betts are there to pick me up and off we go for a fabulous week.

The tide began to turn however on Monday.  On Monday I got a notice from my Ford app that the pressure on my right front tire, which was parked at the John Glenn International Airport in Columbus, Ohio was down to 20psi.  That immediately sent me into a tail spin.  But there was nothing I could do about it at this point.  So, I just waited,

Tuesday, I’m set to fly out of Bangor at 2:05 pm, Diane has me to the airport at 12 Noon, per my request.  I go and have a pepperoni pizza, load on the plane, looks like we’re going to depart on time.  Plane pulls from the gate, gets to the tarmac, and stops.  Pilot comes on air and informs us that due to weather conditions in Charlotte, we have a 1 hour delay.  1 hour later he comes on air and tells us we have another 1 hour delay, however, they are going back to the gate and we can deplane if we like.

I tend to travel very light, so I got off the plane, stretched my legs relax a bit and then reboard.  Once again we get to the tarmac, plane stops, pilot comes on air and says we have another 1 hour delay.  An hour later we have another 45 minute delay and then finally, we take off.  Ride isn’t too bumpy but you can tell we are flying over some weather. 

By this time, I have definitely missed my connecting flight.  I get a message from American Airlines telling me I have been rebooked for a later flight to Columbus.  We land in Charlotte, pull off the runway, head toward the terminal, but do not make it there, oh no!!!!  We stop!!!  Pilot comes on air and says our gate is no longer available, they have to find us another gate.  1 FUCKING HOUR LATER, they find us a gate.  Then, we approach the gate, get almost there, and the plane stops.  Pilot comes on air and tells us the gate is blocked by baggage carts, we have to wait for it to be unblocked.  45 FUCKING MINUTES LATER….the gate is unblocked, we park and I am sure I have missed my connecting flight.  When I find my gate, it is 3 minutes until boarding.  Lord, am I ever relieved.

Plane loads, I have an entire row to myself, I stretch out and relax.  This should be the end of the story….right????  Well, not quite.  I still have to deal with that tire. 

Turns out, airports have a “Parking Services” department that helps travelers with oil changes, flat tires, etc.  So, before I left Diane’s I looked up the phone number for the Columbus Airport and have it stored on my phone.  Our arrival in Columbus was Midnight, I was very tired, very hungry and quite cranky.  I decided to stay overnight in Columbus, deal with the tire in the AM and drive home when I am fed and rested.  I thought there was a Holiday Inn connected to the airport, did a search on my phone and turns out the closest one is 1.4 miles away.  I call.

The agent tells me she has a room for $499.  Nope, wasn’t gonna pay that.  She finally widdles it down to $199, I will pay that, I ask for shuttle service.  They don’t have shuttle service; I have to drive there.  I yell at her (by this time I am totally frustrated with this whole evening) and tell her I’m gonna sleep in my car and hang up on her.

I get out to my car, yes the tire is definitely low.  I call Parking services, explain my situation.  The woman pauses, gives me a second number to call and tells me if they can’t help me to call her back.  I call the second number.  Turns out it is the police department.  I again explain my situation.  The cop asks me again, where I am located.  I say, John Glenn International Airport, Red Lot.  He pauses, says, “Mam, this is Columbia, South Carolina airport and I’m sorry, but we can’t help you.”  Don’t ask, I have no idea how I got that number, but I honestly was about to cry. 

So I looked up the correct number, explain my situation, they said, yes we can help you.  Will send someone right out.  Well, 45 minutes later someone showed up.  Keep in mind, by this time it is 1:30 AM and I am beyond exhausted and famished. 

Very nice man pulls out his little machine that is supposed to INFLATE tires.  Guess what.  He turns off the machine, says I’m good to go, leaves.  I get in my car, ready to find a hotel.  Message pops up that tells me my psi on that right front tire is now 18.  He didn’t inflate anything; he deflated my tire more than it already was. 

So, I may have done the wrong thing.  But I decided to go and find an open gas station and inflate my own damn tire.  The car drove ok, there was no messages telling me to stop immediately.  However, do you have any idea how many gas stations are open at 2 AM?

I drove 30 miles toward home before I found a 24/7 truck stop.  Pulled in, inflated the tire.  Got in the car to leave. Another message pops up and tells me my left front tire is low.  Get out of the car.  Inflate that tire, and drove home….still more than an hour away.  I was totally awake, but to make sure I turned on the air conditioner full blast.

Slid into bed at 3:27 AM.

Like the title says….NEVER AGAIN.   I either drive there or I don’t go.